Over Veteran’s Day weekend I attended the second annual BARF (Beaufort Area Redfish Floatilla).  It’s a tournament held in South Carolina’s low country.   The setting for the event was Hunting Island State Park.  It’s an incredibly scenic place and very unexpected.  The forest had a primeval feel to it and I half expected a Velociraptor to jump out of the bush.  The jungle scenes from “Forest Gump” were filmed there.  Many of the participants camped in the park and came from as far away as Virginia, if you don’t count me coming from New Jersey.  The Captain’s Meeting was Friday night and they cooked up regional specialty called Frogmore Stew.  It’s a concoction of sausage, shrimp, potatoes, onions and seasoning.  It was served in a small 5-foot kayak.  Boy was it good.  Afterwards there were boiled blue claw crabs but by then everyone was stuffed. Still we suffered through a bunch.  Saturday the tournament started at 7AM and went until 6PM.  It was a long day.  The target species were its namesake Redfish along with Trout and Flounder.  They comprised the slam.  As to common with many tournaments the wind was howling as a cold front hit the region.  Most competitors stuck to the adjacent lagoon.  I had a great time meeting folks and taking pictures of them.  I caught a few trout too. 

Here are the winners and the goodies they received for their efforts.

• 1st Place went to Milton Mazariegos (BlufftonYak) with a 3 fish Lowcountry Slam total of 57". Milton received a Custom made wood flats boat, courtesy of Paddling4Reds, for his efforts.  He’s a local and new to kayak fishing.  He took advantage of native knowledge and launched outside where the bigger reds hang.  He’s from Bluffton, SC.  All the winners were from the Palmetto State.
  
  

• 2nd Place - Scott Manchester (Cutmullet) with a total of 46-3/4". Scott received a nice Penn Intl' Travel Rod and Penn SG3000 Sargus Reel courtesy our sponsor, Lowcountry Marine Supply.  He resides in Summerville, SC.
  
  

• 3rd Place - Sonny Higham (Sonnybass) with a total of 46-1/2". Sonny received a nice Carbon Fiber Kayak Paddle courtesy of our sponsor, Higher Ground.  Sonny traveled down from Columbia, SC. 
  
  

After the awards Saturday night several of us partied at Cutmullets Campground.  We ate Smoked fish courtesy of Murrayfisherman.  It was a great time with some terrific folks.  Rural southern hospitality was in abundance with these good old boys.  The events held each Veteran’s Day weekend.  For more info about next year’s event or to learn more about low country kayak fishing contact Troy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .